pic of new 12 gal tank ready to add fish or ?

[lisa g]

I have a 12 gal jbj that has been set up for 8 weeks. Any suggestions on what to put in it first? I am new to salt water but have two fresh waters tanks which I have had for 5 years. I would apprecite some advice.

 

[carshark]

first of all you are very fortunate to live in atlanta.....i used to live there 2 years ago

....the buckhead fish store is phenominal...second are you going to do corals? or whats your goal? umm its all up to your parameters. whats your salinity, temp etc....
oh and its probably smart to convert one of those fresh into salt... as a qt

 

[feixjai]

maybe a goby or a clown

 

[jacksdad]

The first thing you need to add is a Millmod surface skimmer!!

Actually I would add a clean up crew of atrea snails, a turbo, some blue legged hermits and maybe a cleaner or peppermint shrimp. After they have been in there a while then add a fish or two. Clown gobies, firefish,perc, etc. are all good choices.
Good luck with the nano! :cheer:
Bob

 

[lisa g]

Yes Atlanta has some great salt water stores. I am fortunate to have a nice one and semi nice one near by. I have not been to the one you spoke of ...yet! I plan on having some corals and two fish. I still have the bio balls in..is that good I read I should remove them if I plan to have coral? I also have ordered some lighting to upgrade my tank. How about the skimmer? How important is it? I have a small 5 gal tank I am planning to use for a qt. Should I put he cleaners in first then wait a few weeks then begin to add coral, then fish? Any particular order? I have read so much and everyone has a different way to do it. I will have parameters soon I am doing some more tests today.

 

[jacknjill]

you dont really need a skimmer on any tank that small. you could go ahead and add a small fish an some cleaners if your levels are all ok

 

[jacksdad]

JMO, but I think you should add cleaners first. Whenever you add livestock you affect your levels. By adding a clean up crew first you avoid any large losses in case something is wrong or goes wrong. Obviously I am bias about a surface skimmer, but I think you need one. Even a cassette tape, just to eliminate surface scum. A protein skimmer is another thing all together. Some people swear by them. Personally I don't have one at the moment, but will be adding one when I get a chance.
As far as removing the bio balls I think you should. LR rubble in the rear chambers is enough filtration as long as maintain good water quality.
Bob

 

[jacknjill]

jacksdad, what is a casette tape?

 

[jacksdad]

Someone came up with the idea of putting half of a cassette tape case over the intake on a nanocube. It acts as a suface skimmer and led me to create my skimmer. If you need or want more info let me know I can forward the thread, it's on another site.
Bob

 

[speg]

These young kids today dont even know what a cassette tape is?! In MY day all we had were cassette tapes... and if my mom/dad started talking about a old 'record album' of theirs... i'd ask what the heck is a record album?!? Then they would say.... thats what we listened to our groovy music on.......
To you kids today.. these would be known as gigantic cd's - or giganticus maximus compacticus disicusususus. They were available around 1600 BC.
A cassette tape however is very similiar to a VHS tape... just smaller and meant to play music in a radio... I know this is a lot for you to handle.. seeing as how you've only heard of Cd's and DVD's.... but believe it or not... these used to exist.. and for some people who cannot afford expensive new cars.. they are still around.

 

[fedukeford]

if i were u i would start with a couple damsels... thats would i did ... i think the yellow tailed ones are best

 

[lisa g]

Funny you should say damsels because that was what I was looking at. I did get 4 pepermint shrimp and 2 snails today.

 

[jacknjill]

well i KNOW what a cassette tape is :hilarious i just didnt know what he meant about using a casette tape as a skimmer.
and yes i would like a little more info on that. JacknJill@triad.rr.com

 

[1968oldsma]

If your getting damsels just to test the water then please...dont do that.. but if your getting them to keep then go for it, i like damsels, and i like Chromis's very much. They do have a tendency to get a little terratorial.

 

[newbercube]

Will damsels work in a tank that small? I asked the LFS guy and he said they would do well for a while then drive themselves nuts once they got a little bigger cause the tank was so small.

 

[jacknjill]

damsel's will be fine in that size tank :jumping:

 

[carshark]

lisa how are your levels though??? peppermint shrimp can be delicate, if your water isnt ready you may be in for disaster, and 4 is an aweful lot to add at once....watch with caution...unless your tank hads had a few spikes(3+) in nitrates etc its not ready, and adding that many organisms at once could be fatal.

 

[lisa g]

I did lose one peppermint shrimp. The cleaner, two snails and the Hermits were fine until a few days ago. I lost a hermit when he moved out and them didn't move back in to a new shell. Well I think I lost him...I never saw him again so I assume I lost him. Everyone else is good. My water is good. I will test again today before a water change and let you know the latest parameters.